If only I'd known then what I know now…

I’m looking at the ‘chicken planter’ on the walkway, which is now holding sunflowers for the month of August. (I change the flowers every month or two) I’m also noticing “the girls” (our hens) who are walking around in the yard. I can hear the hum of Ed’s tractor outside, as well.

I am thinking…

this year is going by really fast! In about four more weeks, I’ll have another birthday. How is it possible that I’m almost 63 years old?! My birthday will quickly be followed by Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Before I know it, 2017 will be history–and so will I, eventually.

I am thankful…

for the many blessings God has given me in my lifetime! Forty-five years of marriage to a wonderful man, three grown children who make us proud, the three loving spouses of those grown children, four precious grandchildren (who are growing up too quickly!) a home that’s paid for, comfortable & reliable transportation, plenty of food to eat, enough money to meet our needs, and, last, but not least, a new church family. God is good!

One of my favorite things…

is enjoying the quietness and freshness of an early morning. It’s my favorite part of the day, even though it involves cleaning out the chicken coops!

I am creating…
some crafts to do with the children at church. I’ve been helping some with the Wednesday night children’s class. It’s been many years since I’ve done anything like that! So far we’ve done sand art and made a ‘colors of faith’ key chain.

I am wearing…

a blue flowered ‘house dress’. I prefer wearing comfortable dresses when I’m relaxing at home. I suppose that makes me ‘officially’ an old woman, but who cares?

I am reading…

Charles Stanley’s Life Principles Daily Bible and Twelve Challenges Churches Face by Mark Dever. I highly recommend the Life Principles Daily Bible. I’ve learned so much through reading this bible and Dr. Stanley’s commentaries.

Watching…

Big Brother, Outdaughtered, Counting On, Bull, and Fixer Upper on television. Last night we watched an old movie, Problem Child, starring John Ritter. They don’t make movies like that anymore. I laughed until my sides hurt.

Listening to…

a couple of new cds by a local Christian artist named John Wingate. John sang at our church on Sunday night, and he’s quite talented!

I am hoping…

to spend another day at St. Simon’s Island before too long. We haven’t spent much time there this summer.

I am learning…

how to make a pound cake! In about three weeks our church will be selling bar-b-que dinners, and the ladies of the church will be asked to make pound cakes (among other things) for this event.

In my kitchen…
I’ve been baking pound cakes! I’ve never been able to make a good pound cake. I’ve tried several recipes, and the cake always tasted bland or the texture wasn’t right. Recently, I stumbled upon a recipe for Whipping Cream Pound Cake on the back of a Swans Down cake flour box. The first time I used the recipe I had instant success! A few days later, I baked a second cake, and it turned out great, too. If you’re looking for a good pound cake recipe, try this one! I recently learned how to make ham & cheese sliders, as well.

In the school room…
the grandchildren will be gearing up to start home-school in about 3 more weeks. Public school is already beginning in some places.

In my garden…
we have peanuts, some sweet potatoes, one row of butter beans, and three rows of peas growing for a fall harvest.

Post Script…

This has been the year of the rattlesnake, which bothers me because we are surrounded by woods on three sides. Almost every week somebody in our area is killing a snake Take a look at what our neighbor killed a couple of weeks ago:

photo via Facebook

Shared Quote…
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Psalms 3: 5-6

A moment from my day…

Last weekend our youngest son rented a giant water slide, and put it in our yard. All four of the grandchildren had a blast playing on that thing. If only I had the energy to climb and slide as many times as they did… Oh to be young again!

1. We’ve reached edition number 315 here in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. So tell us, what were you doing at 3:15 yesterday? Is that typical? On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being low and 10 being high) what’s your energy level usually like at 3:15 PM?

Yesterday, at 3:15, I was shopping at Wal-mart, and no, that’s not typical for a Tuesday. It’s our turn to cook for tonight’s “Soup for the Soul” at church, so I had to go shopping for that. FYI: It’s too hot for soup, so Ed’s grilling hamburgers, instead. Usually, I’m still taking a nap at 3:15 each day, because my energy level dwindles down to zero about 2:00 every day!

2. A frisbee, a tantrum, a towel, a party, a punch, or a curveball…which have you most recently thrown or had thrown at/for you? Elaborate.

My daughter hosted a ‘Mother’s Day’ get together [for all mothers in the family] at her house, back in May, so that’s my answer.

3. What are three things that would help you right now. Tell us how or why.

First of all, I need more ENERGY. I’m having a lot of chronic fatigue, lately. Second, I need some MOTIVATION. Even when I’m not tired, it’s hard to get motivated. Third, I need more SLEEP. I feel like I can never get enough sleep. I go to bed tired, and I wake up tired.

4. Do you think you’re strong? Why or why not? What makes you strong?

Yes, I know I’m strong! I’ve already been put to the test, on more than one occasion. The first time God put me to the test was when both of my parents were in the hospital (12o miles away, round trip)–both at the same time–for four long months!!! I didn’t know how to drive in a large city, but I had to learn how in just one day. I put 60,000 miles on a new mini van, making those trips back and forth every day! At one point, daddy was in ICU and mama was in CCU, and two of my three children even came down with the chicken pox, too! Did I mention my children were ages 10, 6, and 3 when all of this was going on?

More recently, I was tested during the year 2015, when everything around here seemed to go “to hell in a hand basket”. Ed lost his job (on Jan. 16), then we discovered we had termites and mold under our house (April), I ended up having to have back surgery (Sept), and Ed rounded out the year by having a heart attack (Oct)! I give all credit for my strength to the good Lord above, and thanks to Him, all of those situations had good endings.

5. Do you enjoy reading historical fiction? Nope.

What’s your favorite book set sometime in the past? Gone With the Wind.

Random:

Since I’ve already mentioned faith and church in this post, I think it’s only appropriate that I post an update regarding these two subjects.

After a thirty year membership in our previous church, and a fourteen month journey visiting other churches, Ed and I ‘officially’ settled into our new church home on June 25, 2017.

For a while we had our sights set on a different church, but God soon steered us elsewhere. After many prayers for His guidance, we soon began to sense that this was the church God wanted us to be a part of. This one just feels like “home”.

The church is small, most of the congregation is elderly, and, like so many churches, today, it’s struggling to survive. However, it’s a loving church, and the Holy Spirit is still there. The church lost its pastor, back in November, so we have no pastor at the moment. However, I have faith that God will send us the man of His choosing, in His perfect timing. In the meantime, we’ll persevere.

Wow, has another week flown by already? The days are zooming by! Wednesday means it’s time for another Hodgepodge, so here I am checking into blog land. Thanks so much to our hostess, Joyce, for keeping The Hodgepodge going, thus making sure I blog at least once a week. These days, I need all the help I can get! Here are today’s questions:

1. Growing up, were you close to your grandparents? Tell us one or two specific things you remember about them.
There were a couple of times, growing up, when I lived with my maternal grandparents for several months. You can’t get much closer than that! I loved my grandma very much, and wanted to be just like her. My granddaddy passed away when I was fourteen.

Grandma on her 77th birthday in 1980

The things I most remember about grandma were: (1) She never had idle hands. While sitting, if she wasn’t sewing or crocheting (which she loved to do), she’d usually have a tissue in her hands, folding or playing with it. (I tend to do this, as well) (2) Grandma also liked to dip snuff. (I chose not do that!)

2. What’s an item you were attached to as a child? What happened to it?

I think my Barbie and Skipper dolls were my favorite toys. I was already ten or eleven when I got them, but I still spent many happy hours playing with them. As for what happened to those dolls? Why, I still have them, of course, along with lots of their friends that I’ve collected since becoming an adult! (I collected those dolls I’d always wanted as a child, plus a few more)

3. When you look out your window, do you see the forest or the trees (literally and figuratively)? Explain.

Looking out of my window, I can see the forest and the trees… I see the large sycamore tree that’s growing in my daughter’s backyard–the yard that used to be my backyard, until 10 years ago when we moved next door–and I remember how Ed fussed when I bought that sycamore tree… I also see the tiny mimosa tree Ed recently dug up and planted in our current yard, even though he hates mimosa trees. I also see the large magnolia tree that’s planted between our house and our daughter’s house, and I remember what a little twig it was when we planted it almost 40 years ago. Beyond all of that, I can see the “woods” (southern slang for forest) that surround our property on two sides. Lots and lots of pine trees!

4. Do you like sour candies? I used to like sour stuff, but I don’t care much for sour candies anymore. It’s funny how your taste can change.

Have you ever eaten a kumquat? Yes, I’ve tasted a kumquat, but I don’t like them. Ed’s parents used to have a kumquat tree growing in their yard, so they ate them all the time, in season.

What’s your favorite dish containing one of the sour foods on the list? Lemon pie, of course!

5. July 1st marked the mid point of 2017. In fifteen words or less, tell us how it’s going so far.

Our July has been filled with lots of rain, gnats, and mosquitoes, as usual.

Random:

Our youngest son, Brad, celebrated his 32nd birthday, on Tuesday of last week. How can this be? Time slow down!

Anyway, our family all got together to celebrate with him, last Friday. Here’s one of my favorite photos of the evening:

father and son~sharing a moment together

It’s the little things in life that mean the most, like the father/son moment captured in this picture. One day, when Brad’s son, Evan, turns 32, he’ll look back at this picture and wonder where the years went, too.

Unfortunately, I was sick last week, and had to miss participating in The Wednesday Hodgepodge. It was the first Hodgepodge I’ve ever missed, and I was sad about that! However, I’m feeling better, this week, and I’m back! As always, thank you to our wonderful hostess, Joyce, for everything she does.

Here are this week’s questions:

1. When was the last time you chatted with a neighbor? About what?

My closest neighbor happens to be my daughter, and we chat almost every day. The last time we chatted was on Monday, and we talked about VBS, an upcoming trip her family is taking, and a recent spend-the-night party our granddaughter attended.

2. River, lake, ocean, or waterfall…which one are you most like and why?

I’m going to say I’m most like the ocean. I can’t help but think of the “smooth sailing” and “choppy waters” I’ve encountered along life’s journey. Besides, I love the ocean!

3. July 13 is National Delaware Day. Ever been to Delaware? Delaware is called ‘the first state’ because it was the first to declare independence from the British. What’s your state’s nickname and does that moniker make sense to you? If you were in charge, what nickname would you give your home state?

No, I’ve never been to Delaware. I live in the state of Georgia, and it is known as “the peach state”. Peaches are grown here, so the name makes perfect sense to me, and I wouldn’t change it.

4. What dish did you contribute to the last pot luck meal you attended? Do you have a go-to recipe for pot luck suppers?

Our church recently hosted a breakfast to honor veterans. My contributions were: eggs, blueberry muffins, and cinnamon rolls. I’m afraid I don’t have a “go-to” recipe for pot luck suppers. I make and take whatever I’m in the mood to cook!

5. What is your number one tip for a brand new parent?

Sleep while your baby sleeps!

Random: A tree, an umbrella, and a couple of cats…

Many years ago, Ed’s mama gave me a mimosa tree. I planted it so I could see it from inside the house, and I loved that tree! The tree grew quickly, lived for a few years, then died, as mimosa trees are prone to do. For a while, little mimosa trees kept springing up from the original tree, but, somehow, Ed always managed to mow them down with his lawnmower. I suspect he did this “accidentally on purpose”.

A few weeks ago, while on our way to St. Simon’s Island [to celebrate our anniversary] I kept noticing the mimosa trees blooming all along the highway. I told Ed I would like to find another mimosa tree to plant in our yard. He didn’t say a word.

Three days later, on our actual 45th anniversary, I found ‘my mimosa’, on the way home from our traditional lunch at KFC! I spotted a clump of wild mimosa trees growing beside a ditch, just off the main highway. It’s a miracle I saw them, but I was a woman on a mission!

Now, it’s the wrong time of the year for transplanting trees, but I decided to take a chance anyway. Three days later, at my request, Ed went back to the ditch, and dug up two of the smallest trees. He put the smallest tree in a pot, then planted the larger tree in our yard, near the clothesline. (We’re planning to move the clothesline.)

In an effort to save the mimosa from the hot summer sun, we placed an old beach umbrella over it, using a patio chair to anchor the umbrella. This is what could be called “redneck ingenuity”! At first, the tree dropped most of its leaves, and I began to worry, but eventually, the shedding stopped, and new leaves began to sprout. At that point, we removed the umbrella and chair.

Here are a couple of interesting pictures:

The ‘anniversary tree’ – day two… Kyle, one of our kitties, seems to be enjoying the umbrella that’s shading the mimosa tree!

A few days later… “Baby” seems to like the shade of the umbrella, too. At this point, only the top of the ‘anniversary tree’ remained!

I’m happy to report that both ‘anniversary trees’ are now doing well, and will be a beautiful reminder of our 45th anniversary, for as long as they [and we] live.

I’m sorry it’s taken me three and a half weeks to get around to posting part two of my original post, but life has been busy! I only thought the month of May was busy, with all of its celebrations. Then came the month of June, with Father’s Day, an anniversary, and our garden kicked into high gear. I’m here to tell you, things got a little bit crazy in our neck of the woods!

Before going forward any further, let me back up a bit to the month of May and show you one of my favorite Mother’s Day gifts. My daughter-in-law has a good sense of humor, don’t you think?

I’ve named this little lady “Bertha Big Butt” and we’ve gotten quite a bit of enjoyment out of her, so far… For the first few days, everyone thought “Bertha” was me–bent over and tending to my flowers 🙂 Actually, I do have a polka-dotted dress…but it’s blue.

Come to think of it, “Bertha” reminds me of a story [our former pastor once told] about the lady who came walking into church, one day, with the her dress accidentally tucked into [the back of] her girdle! Heaven forbid! The other day, I was actually headed out the door, to church, when Ed told me to turn around and look in the mirror. Yep, you guessed it–my dress was tucked inside the back of my undies 😦 Thank goodness for observant husbands!

Let me back up a little bit further and show you one of the cute little wrist corsages the children [of the church we’ve been attending] made for the mothers of the church, for Mother’s Day. I thought they turned out nice.

I was invited to help with this project, and I enjoyed having lunch with the ladies, getting to know them, and helping the children create these corsages.

Now, fast forward to the month of June, and the week before Father’s Day and our 45th wedding anniversary. I felt lousy almost the entire week, but on Thursday I finally rallied…just in time to take a beach trip!

On the spur of the moment Ed and I threw our beach chairs into the back of the van and headed for St. Simon’s Island–totally unplanned. We had a great time, celebrating our anniversary a few days early. We ate bar-b-que sandwiches for lunch, and spent the afternoon relaxing under the shade of our favorite oak tree. I didn’t take a single picture, but the view was still the same.

Ed and I celebrated our 45th anniversary (and Father’s Day) in church, on Sunday, June 18. Without God’s mercy, Ed wouldn’t even be here to celebrate with me, so there was no better place for us to be than in church. We drove to the nearest Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, after church was over, and enjoyed our traditional anniversary meal together. Later, we drove home and celebrated Father’s Day, too. It was a busy day!

Suddenly, the day after Father’s Day all of our garden was ready to harvested! We’ve never had this happen before, but our corn, butter beans, tomatoes, and peas were all ready to be picked and canned at the same time! Ed and I worked several twelve to fourteen hour days in a row. At night we fell into bed, exhausted, and this is what my kitchen has looked like for over a week:

this table has been totally filled, twice, with rippening tomatoes

Day one – ( 2 of the 7 buckets of corn we picked)

day four – some of the 3 bushels of butter beans we picked and shelled

more butter beans and the first of the peas

We’re well into week number two, and we’re still picking and shelling peas, as well as canning tomatoes as they ripen! Our green beans and some of the tomatoes may have drowned, but the rest of the garden not only survived, it has produced beyond our expectations. I promised God if He blessed us with a good harvest, we’d share the bounty, and we have.

We’re so grateful to our daughter and our granddaughter for their help in shelling all of these peas and beans. One day, the four of us sat and shelled beans for six straight hours! We all went to bed with sore thumbs.

Things are now winding down with gardening and canning, so the end is in sight! A few more days and the spring gardening season of 2017 will be history. Did you notice I said “spring gardening season”? The fall gardening season is already underway.

Ed already has two rows of sweet potatoes planted! We’ll be adding a few more things to the fall garden as the summer goes on. Oh, and our grapes will be ripe around the last of August! It’ll be time to break out the jars and make a little grape jelly. The fun never seems to end in our neck of the woods 🙂

1. The first day of summer rolls in later this week. What are ten things you’d put on your list of quintessential summer activities? Will you try to manage all ten this summer?

I’m not sure I can list ten things, but here are my favorite summer activities: (1) sitting under my favorite oak tree at St. Simon’s Island while admiring the view (of course!), (2) buying a new beach ornament for my ‘year round tree’, (3) having a family cookout, (4) picking blackberries and making jelly, (5) watching the hummingbirds feed, (6) making/eating a BLT made with home-grown tomatoes, (7) making fresh flower arrangements with zinnias/sunflowers from our garden, (8) picking, cooking, and canning a variety of vegetables from our garden and (9) celebrating our wedding anniversary. (I almost thought of ten!)

home-grown tomatoes

Celebrating anniversary #45

Flowers from the garden

Food for hummingbird

Blackberries for jelly

steaks

my favorite view

2. Do you collect seashells when you’re at the beach? What do you do with them once you get them home? What’s your favorite place to comb for seashells? How many of these ‘best beaches for hunting seashells’ have you visited? Which one would you most like to visit? Calvert Cliffs State Park (Maryland), Jeffrey’s Bay (South Africa), Sanibel Island (Florida), Shipwreck Beach (Lanai Hawaii), Ocracoke Island (North Carolina), Galveston Island (Texas) and The Bahamas

I used to collect seashells from the beach, and display them in a pretty jar, at home. I don’t collect them anymore, though. I still display a few of my favorite seashells in a bowl and I hang some on my ‘year round’ tree, during the months of July/August, when it’s decorated in a beach theme.

I think the beaches of Florida have the prettiest shells of anywhere I’ve been. I haven’t visited any of the ‘best beaches’, but I’d love to go to Sanibel Island (in Florida) or Shipwreck Beach (in Hawaii).

3. At a snail’s pace, shell out money, come out of your shell, go back into your shell, drop a bombshell, happy as a clam, clam up…which ‘shell’ phrase could most recently be applied to some event or circumstance in your life? Explain.

“At a snail’s pace” describes the way I move every morning when I first get out of bed. I’m not currently taking Nsaids for my Rheumatoid arthritis, and it’s much harder for me to get up and get moving in the mornings. (Nsaids are very hard on the digestive system, and I’m trying to give mine a break) The struggle is real, folks.

4. What summer activity do you dislike? Why?

Here in the south, the temperatures hover in the high 90’s for most of the summer. We also have these annoying insects called gnats and mosquitoes. Therefore, I dislike any activity that requires my presence outside after 9 a.m. or before 7 p.m. unless it’s in a place where there are no gnats or mosquitoes.

5. What’s something you see as quickly becoming obsolete? Does that bother you?

A lot of things crossed my mind, but I’m going to say correct spelling and grammar! Yes, it bothers me very much! It’s downright painful to read some of the posts I see on Facebook.

Random:

This summer, there’s a new phenomenon happening in our little neck of the woods, and it’s called “Tattnall County Rocks”. It all started with one woman and a Facebook page. One very talented lady decided to paint a few rocks, hide the rocks all over the county, then post clues on her official “Tattnall County Rocks” Facebook page giving hints about where the rocks were hidden. This activity has become very popular, very quickly, and people of all ages are now painting, hiding, and finding rocks!

Whoever finds a hidden rock, posts where they found it, and usually takes a picture of the rock. Then they either hide the rock somewhere else, or hide another painted rock to replace the one they decide to keep. Then they post a clue concerning where their rock has been hidden.

It’s an activity designed to get children and their parents outside and moving–together. It also challenges them to see what kind of rocks they can create. What a neat idea, and it sounds like fun to me!

Our granddaughter and her mom went out and joined the fun, last week. They found three rocks using the clues they’d read on Facebook. They are currently in the process of painting more rocks to replace the ones they found, since granddaughter, Madison, wanted to keep the rocks she found.

Happy Wednesday! It’s been a couple of weeks since the last Hodgepodge, but it’s back, and I’m glad! As always, I’m thankful to our gracious hostess, Joyce, who keeps The Hodgepodge up and running. Here are today’s questions:

1. The Hodgepodge lands on June 14th this week, Flag Day in the US of A. Do you fly your country’s flag at home? Sometimes, often, or every single day? Have you ever visited the city of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia)? Did you make a point of seeing The Betsy Ross House? Have you ever made a trip to Baltimore? If so, was Fort McHenry on your itinerary? (where Francis Scott Key was inspired to write The Star Spangled Banner)

We don’t fly a traditional American flag, but I have two patriotic garden flags that I fly around Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Does that count? I’ve never been to Philadelphia or Baltimore. I’ve spent all of my life here in the deep south.

2. Red flag or white flag? Which have you encountered most recently? Explain.

Recently, I’ve encountered both. Let’s just say someone else waved the red flag, and I waved the white flag, and let’s leave it at that.

3. Are you a stay in the car listen to the end of a song kind of person? What kind of person is that?

Yes, I’ll stay in the car and listen to the end of a song, if it’s one of my old favorites I haven’t heard in a while. I’m not sure what kind of person that makes me. Sentimental, perhaps?

4. What are some of the traits or qualities you think a good dad possesses? In other words, what makes a good dad?

In my opinion, a good dad should be “hands on” from the start. In other words, one who’s not afraid to change a diaper, give a bottle, or rock a crying baby. He should be patient, nurturing, loving, and unselfish with his time, but he should also be willing to discipline, when necessary.

I’ve just described my husband, Ed. He changed our baby’s diapers before I did, and did his fair share of bathing, rocking, and feeding, as well. This was a tremendous help to me, and helped him build an early bond with our children. No matter how tired Ed was, he never said no when one of the children asked him to do something. In fact, I don’t remember him refusing them anything they’ve ever asked of him, even now. Ed even returned our daughter’s wedding dress, after her wedding was called off. How’s that for a good dad?

What’s an expression you associate with your father?

I can’t remember any specific expressions, so I’ll just tell a bit about my daddy. He was very devoted to my mama, and loved her with all his heart. He had a good personality, and got along well with everybody. He had a tender heart, and cried easily. He also had a ‘green thumb’ and could grow a beautiful vegetable garden. One funny thing I do still remember about him was, upon first hearing the term “chicken fingers” (strips of breast meat) he thought they were talking about actual chicken fingers 🙂 Daddy passed away 26 years ago, following a long illness, shortly after his 65th birthday.

5. What’s one rule you always disagreed with while growing up? Is that rule somehow still part of your adult life? Is that a good or bad thing?

I can’t think of a single rule I disagreed with while growing up. (I’m a ‘rule follower’ at heart.) My parents actually gave me very few rules to follow. I had to clean up the kitchen every night, take care of my bedroom, and, occasionally, I had to help clean the rest of the house. That was pretty much it. Oh, and I had to be home from dates by 11:30–but Ed could stay at my house as long as he liked because our time together was so scarce. (Ed was in the army, and wasn’t around much)

Random:

us, with the pastor who married us

This coming Sunday will be Father’s Day, but Ed and I will also celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary on that day. Yes, we married on Father’s Day, 45 years ago, just three short weeks after Ed was released from the army and I graduated from high school. I’m so thankful to God for bringing us together! We’ll be celebrating with our customary trip to Kentucky Fried Chicken (and the beach). We’ve been celebrating anniversaries with KFC every since our wedding night–when the store manager gave us our first meal as husband and wife for free.

It’s been a while since I’ve written an update post, so I thought I’d write about what’s been going on “in our neck of the woods”, so to speak. There’s a lot to write about, so this will be a two-part post. In hind sight, I probably should have entitled this post, “The Merry Merry Month of May.” We did a lot of celebrating!

We started out the month of May with a birthday celebration. Our oldest son turned thirty-five, on May 10, and we celebrated–twice! His wife hosted a family party over the weekend, then we gave him a second little party on the following Wednesday night, at church. Both celebrations involved good food and fellowship.

the birthday boy, flanked by our grandchildren

This year, we celebrated Mother’s Day at our daughter’s house. She really went above and beyond getting ready for the occasion. She spent almost a week decorating for the occasion, and everything looked so nice for the occasion. I really wish I’d taken a few more pictures!

one of several displays (that’s Ed and me with our moms)

I think our daughter enjoyed having company in her brand new kitchen, and we sure enjoyed eating the delicious food there! The menu was bar-b-que chicken, with all of the trimmings, and it was a group effort, so everyone contributed. Here’s a picture of me with my “babies” who aren’t so little anymore!

Mother’s Day 2017

I’ve forgotten the actual day, but somewhere around the middle of May, this little cutie graduated from K-4 at Busy Little Beavers preschool. In case you couldn’t guess, the program had a western theme 🙂 I was so proud when Chase actually read a book, as a part of the program! It’s good to start them reading early.

Chase was also awarded the “Busy Little Beaver” award, which is the equivalent of a “Principal’s Award”. We’re very proud of our little Chase, who’s not-so-little, these days.

Of course, Memorial Day wasn’t far behind Mother’s Day, and, once again, our daughter offered to host the family at her house. I appreciated this so much, because it gave me a break from hosting duties, once again.

our hostess with her holiday table

We celebrated Memorial Day, a little early, with another cookout on the Saturday afternoon before the holiday. The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed being outside.

Ed and me, relaxing

watching the “grands” in the kiddie pool

watching some volley ball fun

Unfortunately, the Memorial Day weekend ended on a bit of a sour note when our son-in-law came down with the stomach virus! Our daughter-in-law has been the only other family casualty of the virus, so far. We’re all still holding our breath!

Meanwhile, I went to the dentist, on the day after Memorial Day due to a mild, but persistent, toothache. He couldn’t find anything wrong with the tooth, but he prescribed a round of powerful antibiotics, just in case it was too early to spot an abscess (on x-ray) or in case a sinus infection could be causing the problem. Within two days my tooth felt better, but Oh. My. Word, the side effects of the antibiotics have been awful!!! I’ve been nauseated for five days. Thank the Lord, today is the last day of taking them. Now, if I can just avoid the deluge of yeast that usually follows antibiotics! I’ve been faithfully taking good probiotics, so we shall see. I’m also hoping my toothache will become a permanent, fading memory, otherwise, a root canal could be in my future 😦

There’s also been lots of activity in and around the garden, this month, but that’s a post I’ll save for another day. Until next time…

It’s hard to believe the month of May has come and almost gone. It seems like just yesterday this month was beginning! All that being said, it’s the last day of May, it’s Wednesday, and it’s time for another Hodgepodge. As always, thanks to our gracious hostess, Joyce, for keeping the fun alive.

1. What makes you feel accomplished? Explain.

My family–all eleven of them!

While growing up, all I ever really wanted to do was become a good wife and mother. I pray I’ve been successful in both endeavors. Ed and I will celebrate 45 years of marriage, next month.

Together, we’ve raised three children, who have grown up to be adults we are very proud of, and enjoy spending time with. They, in turn, are doing a great job of taking care of their spouses, and raising children of their own. At the end of each day, I feel accomplished and very blessed.

2. If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be? Tell us why.

I honestly have no idea who the last two guests might be, but my first choice would be Dr. Charles Stanley. This man has a wealth of Christian knowledge and experience, and I’d love to talk with him about it at length.

3. Do you have a great burger recipe? What’s in it? What do you like on a hamburger and where is your favorite spot to order one out?

My usual burger recipe consists of ground beef, bread crumbs, an egg, salt, and pepper. However, recently, we’ve discovered these great beef/pork mix hamburger patties in the meat section of Wal-mart. To these patties we just add some Grill Mates hamburger seasoning, and we grill them. They are fantastic!

I like ketchup, mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickles on my burgers, and my favorite burger place is Burger King.

4. What’s the biggest anxiety producing thing you do on a regular basis?

Taking care of these chickens–and trying to keep them off the front porch and out of my flowers! But it’s okay, I love them anyway 🙂

5. This is the last Hodgepodge of May. Tell us about your summer plans.

Ed and I have no big summer plans. Hopefully, we’ll be able to finish harvesting what’s left of our garden, make some jelly, and simply enjoy each other’s company. Of course, we’ll also spend some time with family, and, hopefully, we’ll take a few day trips to St. Simon’s Island. When our harvesting is through, I’d also like to go for an overnight visit to see my brother, in Florida.

Random:

When I posted, last Wednesday, we were in the middle of a downpour of rain. When all was said and done, we received over 9 inches of rain within two days. Sadly, all of our green bean bushes and an entire row of tomatoes [in our garden] drowned as a result of the downpour.

the green beans

The bushes were loaded with beans, and the tomato vines were loaded with tomatoes. It is a sickening sight to see our hard work ruined.

row of drowned tomatoes

However, all was not lost! We were able to salvage 13 quarts of beans off the dying bushes, and a kind man from church gave us 18 tomato plants to replace the ones we lost. Our second row of our tomatoes is still trying to hang on, as are the beans, peas, and our corn…but more rain is in the forecast for this week. If this happens, I’m not sure the rest of the garden will survive. For once, I hope the weather man turns out to be WRONG!

Hello there! I’m back with another edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. I don’t know about where you live, but it’s wet here! We’ve received over 8 inches of rain in the past 24 hours, and there’s still more rain in the forecast! Meanwhile, our gracious hostess, Joyce, has prepared another great set of questions for us, and I can’t think of a better way to spend a rainy day, so here I go…

1. What color is prominent in your home? Are you glad about that or wishing you could cover it up or remove it?

All of the walls and ceilings of our home are lightly stained and sealed wood, so I guess that would fall under the color brown. There was a reason for doing this–we like the ‘all-natural’ look, we were on a tight budget, and we also hate to paint! Overall, I’ve been fairly happy with the ‘all-natural’ look, even on the ceilings, but the color of our wood is darkening a little, over time, and I’m not especially happy about that!

2. What’s something you’ll NEVER do again?

I will absolutely, positively NEVER jump off of anything again! Two different times in my life, I’ve jumped off of high things and, both times, I thought my feet and ankles were broken! I’ve finally figured out that I don’t know how to properly flex my knees upon landing, which helps absorb the impact.

3. Tell us a couple of ways you fit the stereotypes associated with your gender, and a couple of ways you don’t.

(1)I enjoy staying home and taking care of my family and household more than working outside of the home. (2)I enjoy cooking, sewing, and other crafts, but I’m not mechanical.

(1)I’m the more talkative of the two of us, and will usually speak out before Ed does. (2) I have a stubborn, independent streak, so being submissive doesn’t come naturally.

4. May is Motorcycle Awareness Month. Have you ever owned a motorcycle? Ever ridden a motorcycle? If the opportunity presented itself would you hop on a motorcycle and go for a ride?

Ed and I have owned three different motorcycles during our marriage. We owned the first two during the early years of our marriage, before we had children.

Us, riding Ed’s 750 Honda

Yes, I rode with him and it was fun, but never really felt safe or at ease. I worried too much about us having an accident. Ed bought a third motorcycle when he was in his 50’s, but I never would ride it with him. I declared my motorcycle riding days were over! After a while, he finally sold it, thank goodness.

5. If someone wanted to understand you, what should they read, watch, and listen to?

They should probably read a few Nicholas Sparks novels, or some celebrities’ autobiographies, and the Bible. They should watch Hallmark movies, or television dramas (crime or medical shows are my favorites). As far as music, they should listen to the country music of the 90’s, the pop music of the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s, and some timeless good ole’ southern gospel.

Random:

To put it mildly, the 2017 gardening season has been challenging! Our unseasonably warm temperatures, combined with a lack of rainfall has made it difficult. Ed has moved the sprinkler, around in our garden, at least a couple of hundred times, over the past few weeks. He has to move the sprinkler at least 12 times in order to water the entire garden, one time.

Ed working in the garden

Finally, early harvesting of our garden began. Thank goodness, we were able to get our onions and potatoes harvested, along with some garden peas and squash. Our yield has been below average, but, at least we’ve grown enough to share, so that’s good.

digging the potatoes, a family affair

Then the rain started on Monday night! Eight inches and counting, so far. I’m not sure what all of this rain will mean for the future of our garden. Only time will tell. Like I said, gardening this year has been challenging!